Despite the clonal origin of many cancers, most primary tumors display a notable degree of cellular heterogeneity. Although modern chemotherapies kill a majority of the cells in a tumor, evidence clearly indicates that cancer stems cells often remain. The cancer stem cell hypothesis posits that a very rare population of cells within tumors are the only tumor cells with the capacity for limitless self-renewal. This concept has important therapeutic implications, and may explain why it is possible to treat many cancers until the tumor can no longer be detected and yet the cancer returns. There is a need in the art for compositions and methods that will inhibit, reduce, and/or eliminate cancer stem cells from a patient.
The present invention also fulfills these needs, and provides further related advantages by providing conformationally constrained compounds which mimic the secondary structure of α-helix regions of biologically active peptides and proteins and particularly selectively disrupt the β-catenin/CBP interaction.